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Eternally Valuable or Immediately Flammable

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: I Corinthians 3
Meditation: I Corinthians 3:13-15

“But on the judgment day, the fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done—if the worker’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.  But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”

Shift Your Focus… When I was a little kid, we sang a little song in Sunday School that now, upon reflection, was pretty sobering.  If I had truly understood it’s message at the time, it would have scared the willies out of me. It went something like this:

Oh be careful little hands what you do.
Oh be careful little hands what you do.
There’s a Father up above, looking down from heaven with love,
So be careful little hands what you do.

The song had several verses: “Oh be careful little feet where you go… Eyes what you see… Ears what you hear…” and so on.  It was cute and catchy in a way that made it unforgettable, but it also contained a not-so-subtle threat that served as the song’s underpinning:  Be very careful—God is watching you!  And if you mess up…

Obviously, that was back in the day when parents didn’t think a whole lot about damaging little Johnny’s self-esteem.  At least they didn’t in my home, and my church.  They didn’t mind talking about things like offending God and its consequences, judgment and hell, and all kinds of other things that would make most church people squirm today.

However, squirming is sometimes good for us.  And Paul is taking us through a “squirm session” in this section of I Corinthians.  He has been addressing some of the divisions that have developed in the church at Corinth.  The people have been choosing up sides as to who their favorite preacher was.  Some said, “Oh, I got saved under Peter’s ministry.”  Others said, “Well, I have grown the most under Apollos’ fine expository preaching.”  Still others shot back, “Yes, but I have been spiritually grounded in Paul’s deep theology.”  Then the really spiritual people would top them all:  “Oh yah, we follow Christ!”

It’s not all that different today, is it?  I hear people say, “Oh, I get so blessed by Joel Osteen.  He’s so positive and I like that smile.”  And then others says, “Well, I like John MacArthur. He teaches verse-by-verse, you know!  That’s the only way to study the Word!”  And there are those who say, “Dude, Rick Warren’s the man!  He’s so funny and easy to follow.  That purpose driven stuff is really cool.”

Paul delivers a needful blow to this preacher-by-popularity mentality  when he reminds the Corinthian believers that they have missed the fundamental point:  The church has but one leader, Jesus Christ.  We are not under Paul’s or Peter’s or Rick’s or Joel’s lordship, we are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle then reminds them that the church is like a seed, and the seed is from God, and no matter who waters that seed, God is the one who makes it grow.  Switching analogies, Paul then talks about the church being built on the foundation, and that foundation is Jesus Christ.  And anyone who builds on it—whether Paul, or Apollos or Peter…or for that matter Brother Jones or Sister Bertha, or you or me—needs to remember that we are building on a foundation that is Jesus Christ.  So let us be careful then how we build.

Now he’s the clincher:  One day each of us will stand before God to give an account as to how we added to that foundation.  And by the way, we all add to the foundation.  No matter who you are or what you do, if you are a Christian, you are a part of building the church, either adding to it and beautifying it, or taking away from it and diminishing its value.  And on that final day, our works—what we have done with Christ’s church—will pass through the fire.  Then the truth about our work will be exposed for what it is:  Eternally valuable or immediately flammable.

So Paul’s warning is very important:

Oh be careful little hands how you build!
There’s a Father up above looking down from heaven with love,
So be careful little hands how you build.

Notice what Paul goes on to say in verse 16:  “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?  God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple.  For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

We often hear that our physical body is the temple of God, and to be sure that is true.  We need to pay more strict attention to that.  But we also need to be aware that the church we belong to is the temple of God, and it is the dwelling place of God the Holy Spirit.  And if the Spirit of God dwells in our church, we, both worshippers and workers, laity and leaders—all of us—need to be very aware of what we’re doing with that temple.

Paul’s advice:  Don’t trash the temple—either by wrongful attitudes or by inappropriate actions.  There’s a Father up above looking down from heaven with love, so be very, very careful what you do. Love the church, serve the church, build the church—and do it all in a way that brings glory to the Lord of the church and pleases the Spirit of the church, and honors the God of the church.

“The apostles were made evangelists to us by the Lord Christ; Jesus Christ was sent by God. Thus, Christ is from God, and the apostles from Christ…The Church is built on them as a foundation.” ~Clement of Alexandria

Prayer…  Lord, thank you for the reminder of how precious the church, your bride, is to you.  Forgive any attitude that I’ve had that lessens the value you place upon my community of faith.  I pray that you would give me a new energy and zeal to love, serve and build your church in a way that glorifies and pleases you.  And on that final day, I pray that the work I’ve done will pass through the fire as eternally valuable.

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Believing Is Seeing

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: I Corinthians 2
Meditation: I Corinthians 2:9-10

“‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.”

Shift Your Focus… God, the creator of all that is, is knowable. He has made it so that we can know him—not just about him, but know him—deeply, intimately, and personally. We can know who he is, what he is like, what he likes, what he wants from us, and what his plans are.

The question is, how do we get to know God? Paul indicates in this verse that getting intimately acquainted with the Creator of the universe will not happen through human wisdom alone—what we might refer to as the pursuit of knowledge or research or reason or intellect. God has set the rules for getting to know him and he has declared that the avenue to knowledge is by way of faith.

That’s an infinitely critical point, by the way, since in the last several hundred years, man has elevated reason over revelation as the way to enlightenment. This has been especially true in western societies where we are willing to put faith only in that which can be demonstrated empirically. In our world, reason is king and faith is optional.

But for the Christian, everything starts with God. Reason is based on sensory data—what a person can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. Reason is not bad; don’t misunderstand what Paul is saying. I think Paul would quickly point out that reason is God-given, and that God expects us to exercise it. It is not antithetical to faith, but while reason can lead to knowledge or an acknowledgment of God, only revelation can lead to a knowledge of who God truly is—the God of the Scriptures who has revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Revelation is based on something other, something more. Revelation is based on the truth that God took the initiative to make himself knowable, that he has revealed himself to us through his Word and by his Son. Now reason and revelation will not contradict each other, because both are from God. But reason alone will not suffice.

The brilliant Thomas Aquinas, who lived in the 13th century and is arguably the preeminent theologian of the church in the last thousand years, if not longer, said it this way: “In order that men might have knowledge of God, free of doubt and uncertainty, it is necessary for divine truth to be delivered to them by way of faith, being told to them as it were, by God himself who cannot lie.”

Someone can observe the universe (sensory data) and discern (reason) that God exists. They can also reason that he is orderly and intelligent, and discover several other attributes of this deity. But they would have no certain knowledge that he is good, loving, and purposeful. Likewise, this person can practice certain moral virtues apart from a faith-based relationship with God, but they cannot practice authentic faith, they will not have the hope of eternity, and they will never know and practice divine love.

A couple hundred years before Thomas, St. Anselm argued that faith is the precondition of knowledge: “I believe in order that I may understand.” (credo ut intelligam). In other words, knowledge cannot lead to faith. It might get you close, but it won’t get you there. Faith is a gift from God, and when faith is experienced, true knowledge flows. Any knowledge gained outside of faith will be incomplete and untrustworthy.

What he was saying was eloquently stated in the 4th century by another pillar of the Christian faith, St. Augustine. Augustine taught that, “faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” Faith first, then knowledge flows.

All of that is simply to say that God is the creator of all that exists. He is knowable—by his design. He furthermore, has set the rules for getting to know him. Although he has granted the gift of reason that man uses for amazing purposes, reason alone, or call it what you will—observation, research, knowledge, intellect—will never lead to a relationship with God. It may lead to knowing about God, but never truly knowing God. That requires faith. And faith comes only as the result of God’s initiative to reveal himself—to make himself knowable. Responding to his revelation is the faith that is required to unlock knowledge, a saving knowledge, of the Almighty.

So what does that have to do with what you are facing in your life today? Plenty! This God who has taken the initiative to reveal himself and who is discernable and knowable through the exercise of your faith, is a personal God—he wants to be involved in the daily details of your life—and a loving God—he wants to take care of you, favor you and pour out his love on you.

Perhaps you don’t see evidence of that right at this moment, but let me challenge you to believe what you don’t see, exercise faith in this loving God, and the reward will be that you will see, sooner or later, what you believe.

“Reason’s last step is the recognition that there are an infinite number of things that are beyond it.  The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know at all.”  ~Blaise Pascal

Prayer:  Gracious Father, I believe.  Help any unbelief I may have.  I don’t see everything I’d like to see, but I believe.  Now I pray that you would reveal yourself in my life today in tangible ways.  Reveal to me your love, your care, and your favor.  In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, the revealed Word, I pray.  Amen.

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Secure In The Son—Eternally

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: I Corinthians 1
Meditation: I Corinthians 1:8-9

“He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”

Shift Your Focus… Where do you stand on eternal security? The security of the believer has been hotly debated for hundreds of years by theologians much smarter than me, so it’s not likely that I will persuade you one way or the other.

Maybe you are of the camp that believes you cannot lose your salvation—once you’re saved you’re always saved. Or it could be you have joined doctrinal sides with those who’ve found Biblical support that it is indeed possible to “backslide” and fall away from God. I grew up in a theological tradition that supported the latter. As I like to say, we believed in backsliding—and practiced it regularly.

All kidding aside, the older I get and the longer I’ve been a Christian, honestly, the less secure I am on this issue. Frankly, there are compelling arguments for both sides. I sometimes wonder if there is a third alternative that will be revealed when we get to heaven. Wouldn’t that be something!

But one thing I am increasingly secure about, and that is, if it is possible to lose your salvation—and that is a big “if”—it must be exceedingly difficult to walk away from your relationship with God and into a life of sin for the very simple fact of the truth revealed in these verses—I Corinthians 1:8-9. You see, you are not alone; your salvation is not resting on your shoulders. In fact very little of it is up to you. That is not to say that you don’t have a part to play—you do. In verse 9, Paul says it is a partnership that you were called into with Jesus Christ at the moment of your salvation. Your part is to believe, obey, love and serve God.

Even then, God is helping you to do that. According to verse 8, God is giving you the strength, and he will continue to supply the strength to fulfill your end of the partnership until the day Jesus returns and finds you blameless. Isn’t that great news? You are not alone in your spiritual journey; Someone greater than you is at your side helping you each step of the way.

He is the Great Finisher, and he is committed to finishing what he started in you. Paul says it this way in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Now here’s the deal, when God starts a good work, he always finishes it. He doesn’t have a workshop full of half finished projects. He completes them all—each and every one. And since you are one of his good works, you can be fully confident that he will complete his work in you. God will take you from the starting line to the finish line of your salvation marathon.

Jude says the same thing, “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and present you before his throne without fault and with great joy…” (Jude 24) God is able. You may feel weak and incapable in your spiritual walk at times; you may worry if there might be a time in the future where you would walk away from God. But let me tell you this: You are not alone. Your salvation is not all up to you. God is able to keep you from falling. God is able to take you from start to finish and present you in the winner’s circle without fault (Jude 24), complete (Philippians 1:6) and blameless (I Corinthians 1:8).

You are not alone. Your salvation is not all up to you. If you can lose your salvation—if—then it must be the most difficult thing in all creation, since you will singlehandedly have to overcome the greatest force in the universe: God’s saving, sustaining, completing grace.

You are not alone. Your salvation is not all up to you. God is able! You now belong to the Great Finisher!

I hope that makes you more secure in your salvation!

“If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, his arm over us, his ear open to our prayer—his grace sufficient, his promises unchangeable.”  ~John Newton

Prayer… Father, how blessed I am to be the recipient of your saving, sustaining, completing grace.  In your love you saved me and brought me into a lopsided partnership; a partnership where you do all the heavy lifting, and what little I have to do, even that, you help me to do. Thank you for the promise of completing in me what you began, for keeping me from falling and presenting me before your glorious throne without fault on that great and glorious day that Jesus Christ returns.  Thank you that I am as secure in my salvation as secure can be.  I love you, and praise you, and will joyfully serve you all the days of my life.

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Hoping For Heartburn

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Luke 24
Meditation: Luke 24:32

And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Shift Your Focus… Heartburn isn’t usually a good thing, but when God shows up and gives you heartburn, it’s a good thing.

These two disciples were walking the seven-mile journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing the devastating news of the past few hours. It was the very first Easter Sunday, but they didn’t know yet that Jesus had risen from the tomb. As far as they were concerned, he was dead and gone—and along with him, so were their hopes.

Then Jesus showed up, although his identity was hidden from them, and gave them an incurable case of holy heartburn. It was the heartburn of hope, and it was just the cure their broken hearts needed in those post-crucifixion moments.

That’s the beauty of the resurrection. No matter what you’re going through, the empty tomb stands as a constant and certain reminder that there is always reason for hopefulness. That’s why the psalmist, David, said, “Why are you hopeless? Why are you in turmoil? Put your hope in God!” (Psalm 42:5) Resurrection hope is not just wishful thinking or a pie-in-the-sky kind of attitude that says, “Oh well, things will turn out okay someday.” It’s not the breezy kind of optimism that Mary Martin sang about in South Pacific when she said “I’m stuck like a dope with a thing called hope.”

The kind of hope Jesus will burn into your heart is first of all, a reliable hope. Marx said that hope is the opiate of the people, but Christian hope is built on the foundation of the Bible and supported by the reality of the empty tomb. Verse 27 says, “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

Second, resurrection hope is a relational hope. The resurrection is not just a story from the pages of history. “Christ is risen” isn’t some theological incantation clerics pull out of the box every Easter. It is hope that arises from an experience with Jesus himself, not just a dream or a fantasy or a phantom. Verse 29 says, “So Jesus went to stay with them.” Jesus walked with these two disciples. He ate with them. He listened to them, inviting them to pour out their hearts. And he revealed himself to them. Resurrection hope is a real personal, intimate relationship with the living Lord.

And third, the kind of hope Jesus wants to give you is a radical hope. When you encounter the risen Lord and put your complete trust in him, it will be nothing short of life-changing. Verse 31 says that after they had spent time with Jesus, “their eyes were opened and they recognized him…” These two disciples were headed back to Emmaus to pick up the pieces of their shattered dreams, if they could. Instead, they encountered Jesus, and their plans were radically altered. Actually, their lives were radically altered from that moment on.

Maybe you are in the kind of funk these two disciples were in that first Easter Sunday. Perhaps your dreams have been dashed, your circumstances are not what you had hoped for, and your life has not turned out as you expected. Get ready! If you start to get a little heartburn, it could be that the risen Lord is resurrecting your hopes.

And this hope—Biblical hope, resurrection hope—does not disappoint us! (Romans 5:5)

“He that lives in hope dances without music.” ~George Herbert

Prayer… O Lord, in you, and you alone, I put my hope.

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Thoroughly Saved—Just Barely

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Luke 23
Meditation: Luke 23-42-43

Then the thief said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”  And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Shift Your Focus… Two thieves hung on the cross, with Jesus in between them.  One of them joined the mocking crowd in hurling insults at the Lord, but the other hurled himself upon the mercy of God.  And, according to Jesus’ own words, he was thoroughly saved that day, even if it was just barely.

The penitent thief had done no good works, had no track record of righteousness, had no opportunity to make right all the wrongs he had done.  Yet Jesus assured him that within hours, he would be at the Lord’s side in eternity.

So what was it that made him worthy of salvation—even if it was at the very last minute of his life?  The same thing that makes you and me worthy of our salvation:  Absolutely nothing.

All the man could do was recognize his own guilt (“Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds…”), believe in the righteousness of Jesus Christ to save (“but this Man has done nothing wrong…”), and entrust his eternity to the mercy and grace of God (“Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”)

That is all anyone can do to be saved.  The thief was thoroughly saved that day; as saved as you, me, or anyone who has faithfully served the Lord their entire life.  And that is the whole basis for the Gospel. That is and what sets Christianity apart from every other religion:  Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Every other religious effort to attain eternal life is based on what we do.  But what we do, no matter how much we do and how well we do it, can never be enough to satisfy a perfect and holy God.

Christianity is based on what Jesus did for us on the cross.  Only by acknowledging our sinfulness, believing in his atoning work, and receiving him by faith can we appropriate the grace of God that thoroughly saves us for all eternity.

And that’s the Good News.

“This is the mystery of the riches of divine grace for sinners, for by a wonderful exchange our sins are now not ours but Christ’s, and Christ’s righteousness is not Christ’s, but ours.” ~Martin Luther

Prayer… Lord, if my salvation were based on what I could do, I would never make it.  Thank you for your grace and mercy.  I am thoroughly saved for all eternity—hallelujah!

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The Second-To-Last Supper

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Luke 22
Meditation: Luke 22:15-16

Jesus said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Shift Your Focus… From the moment Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, Christians have regularly celebrated communion in memory of his death.  Some church traditions celebrate it every Sunday, others celebrate it monthly—as does my church on the first Sunday of every month—and still others have their own tradition as to the frequency and practice of communion.

When we receive communion, we mostly focus on the Lord’s death and our redemption that was purchased at the moment of his sacrifice.  And what a sweet time of remembrance it is.  Nothing is more moving than coming to the Lord’s Table.

Yet it is not only about remembering, communion also calls us to look forward.  Twice, as Jesus instituted this holy sacrament, he spoke to his disciples of a time in the future where he, himself, would again participate in this celebration.  He was referring to his second coming.  He was issuing a promise that he would come again, and each time they, and by extension, we, receive Holy Communion, we were to be reminded of that promise and rejoice in its future fulfillment.

Hopefully, in the tradition of your fellowship, you will receive Holy Communion soon, as I will.  I want to challenge you to not only look back in gratitude for the Lord’s death, but look forward in hope to the Lord’s coming.  When you eat the bread and drink the wine, your are declaring his death, as the Apostle Paul said, “til he comes.”

Holy Communion means a promise.  It is one of God’s best promises to you.  And he has never broken a promise—not one.  Jesus sealed the promise of his return by his death, and he guaranteed it by his resurrection.  He will make good on it—perhaps sooner than you expect.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”  (I Corinthians 11:26)

“Death stung himself to death when he stung Christ.” ~William Romaine

Prayer… Lord Jesus, thank you for the cross.  And thank you for the promise of your return.  I eagerly desire to eat the Lord’s Supper on the day of your return.

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Your Stuff

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Luke 21
Meditation: Luke 21:5-6

“As some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, Jesus said, “These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

Shift Your Focus… Just a quick reminder to help you keep a good perspective on life:  What you see is temporary.

I didn’t say it is unimportant. That may or may not be the case.  But, for sure, it is temporary. It will all, even the really expensive stuff, sooner or later, return to the dust from which it came.

The disciples were pretty infatuated with the beauty and magnificence of Herod’s Temple, and rightly so, from a human perspective.  It was a wonder to behold.  But Jesus gave them a dose of reality by reminding them that every square inch of it would soon return to the dust from which it had been created.

Jesus didn’t say that the temple was unimportant.  In fact, he had driven out the moneychangers who were corrupting that very place.  He was upset that they had turned what should have been a house of prayer into a den of thieves.  Jesus wasn’t down on this marvelous place of worship.  He just knew that in the larger scheme of things, it was only temporary.

So also are all the things that give you comfort and security:  Your home, car, clothes, jewelry, and all the other stuff that you spend your hard earned money on just to one day put in a garage sale. Not necessarily unimportant, mind you—just temporary.

Spiritually wise people will fight to keep that perspective regarding the stuff of life. They will remember, as Jesus said, that not only earth, but even the heavens as we know them will one day pass away.  The only things that will remain are the things that he has proclaimed. (Luke 21:33)

That’s why Jesus warned us not to get too caught up in the things of life: “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing” …the pursuit of happiness … “drunkenness” …the pursuit of pleasure …and cares of this life” … the pursuit of comfort. (Luke 21:34)

The temporary stuff of this life will prove to be “a snare” (verse 35) if we don’t ruthlessly maintain an eternal perspective:  “Watch therefore, and pray…” (verse 36).

Just remember that as you go about your day.  Your stuff is temporary; only what is of faith is eternal.

“Let your prayer for temporal blessings be strictly limited to things absolutely necessary.”  ~Bernard, Archbishop of Vienne

Prayer… Father, keep me focused on the things of your eternal kingdom today, and not on the pursuit of the temporary stuff that vies for my attention.